[3] Santa Maria was created as a municipality of Davao on June 18, 1966 out of 12 barangays and 15 barrios from Malalag, by virtue of Republic Act No.

[6] On October 28, 2013, it was ceded to Davao Occidental as a result of a plebiscite, in which the majority of voters approved the creation of the new province.

[7] The municipality, located on Mindanao Island, is about 40 kilometers (25 mi) north-west of provincial capital municipality of Malita and about 1,023 kilometers (636 mi) south-south-east of Philippine main capital Manila.

The noted feature of Santa Maria is the Mount Monkeyawa, standing about more than a hundred-meter above sea level.

Poverty incidence of Santa Maria Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Municipal officials 2022-2025: